Yin Guo didn’t understand at first.
After pondering for a few seconds, she caught his drift. Or rather, she half-understood; Lin Yiyang had spoken quite cryptically.
Lin Yiyang reached out his right hand, signaling for her to give him the bag of coffee beans. Yin Guo handed them over, and as she did, she gave him her hand as well. He took the paper bag and tossed it into the drawer, but he didn’t let go of her hand.
As Lin Yiyang pulled her closer, her only thought was: *No, I haven't brushed my teeth yet.*
"Your coffee... I think it's time to turn off the heat," she said, searching for an excuse to avoid him.
"This pot wasn't brewed well," he said softly. "I'll pour it out in a moment."
Yin Guo was still agonizing over the fact that she needed to brush her teeth. She shook her head, dodging him again.
In the early stages of a relationship, there is a delicate sense of bashfulness; it felt awkward to bluntly say, *Wait for me to brush my teeth first.* Lin Yiyang saw right through her conflicted expression.
He tilted his head to look into her eyes. "Regretting it?"
Suddenly, the bathroom door swung open.
A groggy Wu Wei wandered out, only to witness a scene: Lin Yiyang was shooting him a displeased look while turning off the stove, waiting for the pot of incredibly expensive coffee to cool. Yin Guo was leaning against the bar, a full step away from Lin Yiyang, staring intensely at the empty countertop as if lost in thought.
Wu Wei desperately wanted to peek under the bar to see if their legs were touching.
He also took a moment to recall: where had Lin Yiyang gone last night before he made that phone call?
Lin Yiyang used his leg to kick the drawer shut with a loud *thud*, a clear warning for Wu Wei to know when to quit.
Wu Wei coughed and rubbed his neck. "Morning."
Yin Guo looked up and gave a friendly smile.
"Did I wake you last night? My sister called," Wu Wei said.
She shook her head. "I didn't hear much."
"It was Lin Lin. You've heard of her, right? She plays nine-ball too."
"I have," she said. "I have a competition in Hangzhou at the end of April. I might even run into her if she’s refereeing."
Lin Lin was a senior figure in women's nine-ball. Her world ranking had consistently been among the top, and in one particular year, she had won three major championships in a row. Having fulfilled her ambitions, she promptly announced her retirement and moved behind the scenes to become a referee. Rumor had it that the main reason for her retirement was poor health.
Yin Guo’s mind began to wander...
Could Lin Lin and Lin Yiyang have a special relationship?
"Has your brother mentioned her over the years?" Lin Yiyang suddenly asked.
Fearing Yin Guo might misunderstand his relationship with Lin Lin, he chose to sell out Meng Xiaodong instead.
The leap in logic was so great that Yin Guo was stunned for a few seconds. "Is my brother close with her?"
"More than just close," Wu Wei said, seeing that Lin Yiyang had already opened the topic. There was no point in hiding it anymore. "Lin Lin chased your brother for years."
Yin Guo looked completely blank.
"Lin Lin is... your sister?" she remembered Wu Wei saying that earlier.
"Just a nickname," Wu Wei said. "But our bond is no different from real siblings."
Lin Yiyang explained, "When we were kids, Wu Wei was a good student but a bit of a coward. He used to get cornered and beaten up by punks at the school gate. Lin Lin always protected him, so Wu Wei has always seen her as an older sister."
"The one she protected with her life was Meng Xiaodong," Wu Wei said, lifting his short sleeve and pointing to his back shoulder. "Lin Lin has a tattoo here. When she was sixteen, she offended some people for your brother's sake and was left with a scar by those punks. She thought it was ugly, so she got a tattoo over it."
What kind of massive gossip was this?
"My brother really never mentioned a single word about it." She tried to recall the two of them together, but there seemed to be no intersection at all.
Lin Yiyang and Wu Wei exchanged a look.
"Did my brother ever like her?" she asked softly, afraid her cousin sleeping in the room might hear.
Lin Yiyang shook his head. "I'm not sure."
He poured three cups of coffee, one for each of them.
Yin Guo looked at Wu Wei.
Wu Wei also shook his head. "Who knows what your brother was thinking? Only the devil knows." After saying that, he added indignantly, "With that 'ascetic' attitude of his, he still only ranked fifth. He’s been suppressed by Jiang Yang all year."
Yin Guo reflexively defended her brother. "Jiang Yang is only fourth this year. Two years ago, my brother was still ranked higher than him."
Wu Wei saw her serious face and laughed. "Yes, yes, let's not get worked up over their scores. They've been fighting for years."
Lin Yiyang listened to them, holding the rim of his white porcelain cup with two fingers as he took a sip of coffee. It was as if none of this had anything to do with him.
Wu Wei didn't say anything more, deciding it was "time to go." He finished his coffee in a few gulps, grabbed his keys, and left.
Once they were alone again, the original atmosphere returned.
"Is it boring listening to us talk about the past?" he asked.
Yin Guo shook her head and asked back, "Would it bore you to hear about my childhood?"
Lin Yiyang shook his head as well. Anything was fine; unfortunately, no one was there to tell him those stories.
The beginning of a relationship is the most wonderful stage.
I don't know you, you don't know me; I long to know everything about you, and you feel the same.
Every word he and Wu Wei spoke was fresh and interesting to her—about Lin Yiyang, about this man's past. She listened intently to every syllable.
Lin Yiyang pushed a coffee cup toward her hand, signaling for her to drink. Yin Guo became alert again to the fact that she hadn't brushed her teeth. "I have to brush my teeth before I can eat or drink anything." With that, she dashed into the bathroom.
As the door closed, Lin Yiyang couldn't help but smile.
Too cute.
By the time Yin Guo came out, Meng Xiaotian was already awake and chatting with Lin Yiyang.
Seeing the coffee had gone cold, Lin Yiyang brewed a fresh pot for Yin Guo. It hadn't reached a boil yet. Their eyes met for a few seconds across the space where her cousin stood.
"Wait a moment," Lin Yiyang said, pointing to the coffee pot.
She gave an "Mhm."
As she waited, she remembered something else. "I have to move out today."
Lin Yiyang looked at her.
"The main force of the club has arrived. The coach wants me to stay at the hotel," she explained. "Everyone has to gather."
"Leaving already?" Meng Xiaotian was surprised. "My brother is something else, dragging you back the moment he arrives."
Yin Guo’s words were reasonable, so Lin Yiyang didn't overthink it. He said directly, "Pack your things. I'll take you there."
"Aren't you going back to school?" she remembered he had a train to catch after lunch.
"I'll drop you off first," he said.
If necessary, he could just catch a later train back to D.C.
"Then I'll go pack now," she said immediately.
This way, she could finish packing before lunch, and after he dropped her at the hotel, he would still have time to get to the station.
Lin Yiyang nodded. "Go ahead."
Meng Xiaotian realized no one was responding to him. His eyes darted left and right.
Yin Guo had only taken one step when Lin Yiyang grabbed her wrist and pulled her back.
This time the coffee was truly ready, and she could have a perfect sip.
From the moment he pulled her back, he didn't let go of her hand...
Meng Xiaotian finally understood. He ruffled his short hair. "Uh, Sis, you go ahead and pack. I don't really want to see my brother yet. I'll visit you at the hotel after he leaves. I'm hungry, starving actually. I'll go eat first, won't wait for you two!"
The cousin didn't linger and left quickly.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he stepped out, he ran right into the group from Dongxincheng downstairs.
The Dongxincheng crew loved morning exercise. The younger kids trained in the morning and insisted on coming to the pool hall where their "Youngest Uncle" used to work, booking the whole place for practice. As a result, everyone showed up early—the juniors to train, and the seniors to scrounge a meal...
Yin Guo didn't want to be scrutinized by all of Lin Yiyang's friends several times within a single hour, so she hid in the room and packed. Lin Yiyang stayed outside, distracted, sipping his second cup of hot coffee.
Jiang Yang wanted to chat. "Make a cup for me too."
Lin Yiyang acted as if he hadn't heard. "I didn't sleep all night. You guys make yourselves at home; I'm going to catch some sleep."
He didn't give them a single pleasant look.
Yin Guo wanted to come out halfway through but was afraid of running into the men alone, so she sent Lin Yiyang a WeChat message.
*Red Fish: When are they leaving?*
*Lin: We’ll leave first.*
*Red Fish: ...I’m afraid to come out.*
*Lin: ?*
*Red Fish: It feels awkward.*
*Lin: I’ll tell them to go to the bathroom. You head out, then they can come back out.*
*Red Fish: No, no, that would make it even harder to face them in the future.*
*Red Fish: Never mind, I’ll just bite the bullet and come out.*
*Lin: :)*
*Lin: Let’s go when you’re ready.*
*Red Fish: Okay.*
Once Yin Guo finished packing, she was ready to go. Lin Yiyang found a spare key and tossed it to Jiang Yang. "I'm heading back to school. Do whatever you want."
He picked up Yin Guo’s suitcase and walked out first.
As Yin Guo stepped out of the apartment door, she felt the burning gaze of the group on her back. She tried her best to remain calm, turned around, and waved goodbye to the crowd who were huddled together eating takeout.
Once the apartment door clicked shut, the men looked at each other: Lin Yiyang was going back to school, and the girl was following him with a suitcase?
As expected of "Young Master Yang," who never followed the rules and never played a standard shot—he was the same in love.
Fast, accurate, and ruthless.
"Get the red envelopes ready," Jiang Yang commented. "We can't let Dongxincheng lose face."
"How much is enough?" Fan Wencong, a practical man, took out his phone to check his online banking.
Chen An'an thought for a moment. "This year's prize money, I'd say."
Jiang Yang didn't object, thinking it was a good omen to celebrate finding their brother again.
Fan Wencong saw that even the world’s number four didn't object... and silently put his phone away. *Anyway, my ranking in the teens is far behind yours.* He just silently grumbled in his heart: *After giving such a big red envelope, he didn't even let us get a good look at his future wife. What a loss, I didn't even look properly. Next time, I have to see what she really looks like.*
***
The Open had a designated hotel that offered discounts to participants.
Therefore, most foreign players chose to stay in the same hotel, training in the hotel's billiard room or two nearby halls. After Yin Guo checked in, she found that her coach and teammates from the club were all in the hotel's billiard room.
Seeing that Lin Yiyang didn't seem to mind going, she took him to the third floor.
The Beicheng team had just arrived today, and Meng Xiaodong had booked the entire hall for everyone to practice and adjust to the local time zone.
When Yin Guo pushed the door open, the eight nine-ball tables and four snooker tables outside were all full, occupied by her own people. When they saw their "Little Junior Sister" had arrived, they waved and greeted her one after another.
"Why are you all here?" Yin Guo looked curiously at the people by the snooker tables.
Someone replied, "We were supposed to go to the Tour Championship, but Brother Six said we had to come to the US first. He was probably worried about your first professional tournament."
In Beicheng, "Brother Six" referred to Meng Xiaodong.
Yin Guo nodded. "Is my coach inside?"
She had just received a call saying he was in the lounge.
"He is," another replied. "Go on in, he's waiting for you."
Yin Guo looked around and saw a row of chairs by the window.
She beckoned Lin Yiyang over. He leaned down, and she whispered in his ear, "Twenty minutes at most... or half an hour."
Lin Yiyang nodded and patted her head. "No rush."
Yin Guo smiled at him and ran off reluctantly.
To be honest, Lin Yiyang’s gesture was intentional.
Unlike Yin Guo, who felt at home the moment she entered this billiard room, surrounded by familiar faces and oblivious to the scrutiny, Lin Yiyang knew from the moment he stepped through the door that everyone in the room was sizing him up.
Including now.
He walked to the window but didn't sit. He simply leaned against the glass, watching the Beicheng players practice, especially those at the snooker tables.
He hadn't followed the circuit for years, but because Wu Wei was still playing, he had heard about several rising stars from Beicheng and had seen a few match videos. The consensus was: they all followed Meng Xiaodong's style.
One of the men Lin Yiyang had seen in the videos was currently at a green snooker table, rubbing chalk on his cue tip. From the moment Lin Yiyang entered, this man had been staring at him and Yin Guo without reservation, his gaze never wavering for a second. His name seemed to be... Li Qingyan.
Since entering, Lin Yiyang had watched this man play a few shots. Like Meng Xiaodong, his rhythm was stable, strictly controlling his shots within twenty-five seconds. After noticing this new habit of Meng Xiaodong's the other day, Lin Yiyang had looked up the rules for various major tournaments.
This was a rule from the Premier League, and it was very demanding. Many other international events didn't have this twenty-five-second requirement. However, Meng Xiaodong was clearly training himself and his players using the most stringent rules.
A minute later, two young men from the nine-ball side who were familiar with Yin Guo smilingly crossed the "safety line" between the crowd and Lin Yiyang.
"Nice to meet you, brother." The taller one leaned against Lin Yiyang's left and extended his right hand.
Lin Yiyang reached out and gave a symbolic handshake.
"Do you play?" the shorter one next to him asked.
If he were a professional, someone would recognize him, so everyone assumed he was an amateur.
Seeing that these two were relatively friendly and mostly just curious, Lin Yiyang leaned back and replied casually, "Occasionally."
The crowd listening in understood: an amateur.
So, Yin Guo had come to New York early and somehow got picked up by an amateur enthusiast. They didn't even dare to dream of such a thing, so what would Brother Li—who had grown up as Yin Guo's childhood friend—think?
By the snooker table, Li Qingyan’s practice partner, Xiao Zi, picked up a ball and pointed with a smile at the green table. "According to the rules, anyone who enters our Beicheng-booked room has to play a frame."
Lin Yiyang shook his head. "I don't play snooker."
No one could make him break that rule; even Meng Xiaodong had only managed to make him take half a step back.
"Nine-ball?" someone pointed to a blue table nearby.
Lin Yiyang thought about it and decided against it.
The nine-ball side was full of young, aggressive players who were participants in this Open. It was impossible for him to play poorly or go easy on them, but playing a serious game against professional players right before the Open wouldn't be very fair to them.
So, he shook his head again. "I don't play that either."
Everyone looked at each other. So he was a Chinese eight-ball player.
"Set up an eight-ball rack for him," Xiao Zi said. "Use the nine-ball table."
After Xiao Zi spoke, everyone looked at Li Qingyan.
Li Qingyan finally spoke, his tone very polite. "Anyone who can enter our private space is either one of us or a friend. If you want to be a friend, play a frame. Otherwise, it'll be hard to convince the crowd."
Xiao Zi added the final word: "Unless you say you've never touched a cue and don't understand the game at all. Then we won't force you."
Lin Yiyang saw the situation and knew he wouldn't be able to get away without a demonstration today.
He could tell this Li Qingyan was a key figure. He guessed the man had either pursued Yin Guo in the past or they had been together, and at the very least, he was still thinking about her today.
He left the window and walked straight to the snooker table where Li Qingyan and Xiao Zi were practicing. He tapped the edge. "This one."
The room gradually fell silent.
"I thought you didn't play snooker?" Li Qingyan looked at him with a smile across the table.
"Right, I don't." Lin Yiyang looked around for a house cue.
"Xiao Zi, give him yours," Li Qingyan said.
Xiao Zi handed his personal cue to Lin Yiyang. "I still have a match later, so take it easy."
Lin Yiyang took the cue and patted Xiao Zi on the shoulder. "Thanks."
There were three balls left on the table. Lin Yiyang used his hand to completely clear the table, leaving only one red ball and the white cue ball.
Lin Yiyang pointed at the red ball. "Place the red ball wherever you want. I'll take the shots."
With that one sentence, everyone watching was stunned.
Too arrogant. He dared to play with the ball placed anywhere?
Lin Yiyang picked up the chalk from the edge of the table and added one more thing: "Fifty shots. If I miss more than three times, I lose."
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 林霖 | Lin Lin | A retired professional 9-ball player, friend of Wu Wei. |
| 江杨 | Jiang Yang | A top-ranked professional player, rival of Meng Xiaodong. |
| 李清严 | Li Qingyan | A professional player from Beicheng, childhood friend of Yin Guo. |
| 硝子 | Xiao Zi | A player from Beicheng, practice partner of Li Qingyan. |
| 范文匆 | Fan Wencong | A professional player from Dongxincheng. |
| 陈安安 | Chen An'an | A professional player from Dongxincheng. |
| 中式八球 (中八) | Chinese Eight-ball | A popular billiard variant in China played on a table similar to 9-ball but with snooker-like pockets. |
| 巧粉 | Chalk | Billiard chalk used on the cue tip. |
| 小扬爷 | Young Master Yang | A respectful/nickname for Lin Yiyang among his peers. |
| 北城 | Beicheng | "North City," the name of Yin Guo and Meng Xiaodong's club. |
| 东新城 | Dongxincheng | The name of the club Lin Yiyang and Jiang Yang belonged to. |
